Apparatus for cleaning fruits, vegetables, seeds, and the like.



H. BECKER.

S, VEGETABLES, SEEDS, AND THE LIKE.

APILIGATION FILED SEPT 7. 1912 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FRUIT Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

FIG.

7772072 nBecZ er H. BECKER.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FRUITS, VEGETABLES, SEEDS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 7, 1912. 1,055,121.

2 SHEBTS-SHEBT 2.

/4 43 f5 /6 I/ Q, 5/ 267 26 H Y'T IIIJIJLZL I.11.IIIISIJ'JISI.IIZ :ZZLZ'JIJIIIZZIIIJITLTIIIII 52 5 53 5/ 'M |Z'IIlIl/ /IIIIIIIIIIIA'I lMIIl/[jllll llllllllll FIG. 6.

ZflziFzass 66 fizz/621 507 Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

HERMANN BECKER, OF ST. SAVIO'URS, ISLE OF JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FRUITS, VEGETABLES, SEEDS, AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN BECKER, a subject of the Kin of Great Britain, residing at Five Oaks, git. Saviours, Isle of J ersey, ()hannel Islands, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for-Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables, Seeds, and the Like, of which the following is a speci- {This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cleaning fruits, vegetables, seeds and the like, and it has for its object to provide means whereby the cleaning operation may be effected in a more hygienic manner with great rapidity .and at considerably less expense than heretofore. 7

It is usually the practice to employ hand laborcfor preparing for the market fruits, and vegetables, especially those which have been sprayed during growth with chemical substances which frequently attack and ruin crops, and this practice is not only tedious, but in most cases, is extremely costly.

This invention provides a mechanical subof injury to the fruit or vegetables under treatment, and the invention has been designed With especial reference to the cleansing of'tomatoes which, according to custom,

are 5 rayed duringgrowth with a solution of su fate of copper and lime and which, when acked, are invariably found to be marked on the surface and not in presentable condition either for marketing or for consumption] The invention is, however, not limited in its application to tomatoes,

and may be utilized to deal with any othervegetable, fruit, "bulb or seed which may require cleaning preparatory to being sent to market;

According to this invention, the articles to be cleaned are fed into a trough or casingonto an endless traveling apron above which is reciprocated rapidly a brush whosebristles contact with the articles and remove all foreign matter from the surface of the same. In order that the entire surface of each article maybe subjected to the cleansing action of the brush, atransversely corrugatedbed is disposed beneath the upper run of the aforesaidendless apron, and the bristles of the reciprocating brush are arranged in transverse rows of alternating lengths, whereby each article during its passage from the feeding-in to the deliveryend of the apparatus is completely turned Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 7, 1912.

stitute which operates without any danger Patented Mar. 4, 1913. Serial No. 719,134.

apron. The endless apron and the reciprocating brush may be actuated at the requisite speeds by manually operated gear, or 1f desired, mechanical or electrical driving mechanism may be employed. The recipro s eating brush is referably so arranged that theheight of tlie brush from the endless apron may be varied in accordance with the size or delicacy of the article under treatment, and if desired, each row of bristles may be adapted to be removed independently of the remainder to facilitate renewal, or for any other purpose. The driving mechanism may be so arranged that the movement of the endless apron may be retarded or, if necessary, stopped altogether, thus delaying or arresting the passage of the articles through the machine, while the reciprocation of the brush .is continued as before. livered from the apparatus along an inclined plane into a container therebeneath, or on to conveyer mechanism which transports'the articles to a packing table. Suitable means may be provided at the delivery end of the machine whereby the cleaned articles are graded during delivery. The reciprocating brush may, if desired, be built up of a number of separable sections adapted to reciprocate as a whole. A number of such apparatus may, if desired, be connected side by side and operated from the same source of power. r

A machine constructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing the mechanism for operating the gradin tray and the clearing rollers associated wit 1 said tray; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of a portion of the grading apparatus; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line A-A, Fi 1; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the hand-wheel side of the apparatus; and Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the rollers for clearing the gradin apparatus and of the levers for actuating t e same.

1 is a trough-like casin of wood or other appropriatematerial, pa ded internally if the articles to be cleaned are ofa delicate The cleaned articles may be de-' of said casing,

" articles to be treated by the machine.

nature, and supported on a stand or base at a suitable height from the ground. lVithin said casing l a horizontally disposed endless traveling apron 2 of stout canvas, sailcloth, or other suitable material is stretched over rollers 3, t, mounted upon shafts 5, 6, supported in hearings in the side walls the outer surface of said endless travelmg apron being proyided, if desirable, with an upper layer of quilted material; Above the apron is arranged a brush 7, of rectangular shape in plan,'which is mounted on rollers 8, 8, taking into horizontal grooved ways or guide-rails 9, 9, se cured adjustably to the side walls of the casing 'lby means of bolts passing through vertical slots 10, l0, 10, 10, formed in said side walls and butterfly nuts ll, ll, 11, 11, taking onto said bolts. At the extremities of said grooved ways 9 resilient stops or buffers 9 may be mounted, if necessary. The bristles of this brush '3 are soft, medium, or hard, according to the requirements of thp bow 12 is bolted or otherwise secured to the upper side of said brush 7 and a connecting rod 13 links the bow 12 with a crank shaft l4 mounted in hearings in an upper frame 15 and provided with a fly wheel 16 and an operating handle 17.

' @n the crank shaft 14, adjacent to the fly wheel 16, is mounted a sprocket 16 and a chain 18 transmits the forward rotary motion of said sprocket to a second sprocket l9 keyed on the shaft 5, whereby the endless apron 2 is driven. At its opposite extremity the crank shaft 14: has keyed to it a sprocket 20 connected by a chain 21 with a sprocket- 22 for a purpose to be referred to hereafter; and at one extremity of the.

shaft 6 sprocket 23 is keyed and is connected by a chain 24 to a sprocket 25 for a purpose also to be referred to hereafter.

26 is a suitably padded hopper attached removably to the casin 1 and into which the articles'to be cleanc are fed by suitable means, an inclined padded platform 27 leading the articles from the hopper to the endless apron. 2. At the end opposite that which carries the sprocket 23 the shaft 6 has keyed to it apulley 28 from which a belt is taken to a smaller pulley 29 carried on the spindle 30 of a rotary brush 31 arranged in suitable bearings transversely of the delivery edge of the hopper 26 and serving to spread the articles uniformly before they are deposited upon the endless apron 2.

32 is astationary brush arranged parallel with the roller 3 and bearing against the endless apron 2, said brush 32 being mounted adjustably in a removable span 33 and 'servin to remove from the apron 2 particles o dirt and other extraneous matter detached by the brush 7 from the articles as they pass through the machine. A. padded reenter inclined plate 3 upon which the articles are delivered by apron is arranged above said pan and has a leather or other flexible extension 235 which overhangs a removably trough or tray 36 adapted to receive the cleaned articles and to pass them on to grading devices to be referred to hereafter. The leather or flexible extension 35 breaks the fall or the articles which roll down the inclined plate 34 and thus prevents ripe and soft t'ruit, vegetables or the like from becoming bruised as they fall into the trough or tray 3.6.

In order that the entire surface of each article may be subjected to the cleaning action of the brush 2', a corrugated bed 37 of iron or othersuitable material is arranged beneath and closely adjacent to the upper run of the apron 2, and, as will be clearly seen in the drawings, the bristles of the brush 7 are arranged in transverse rows of alternating lengths. The effect of this arrangement is to cause each article to be turned or spun completely over several times during its passage through the machine, thus exposing the entire surface of each object to the brush. ltf desired, each row of bristles may be attached removably to the. back of the brush 7.

Beneath the aforesaid endless apron 2 there is arranged a grading tray 38 adapted to *rade the cleaned articles into, say three difierent sizes. This tray 38 is rectangular in shape and is mounted at its two ends on. transverse guides 39, 39, upon which said tray is adapted to be agitated by being reciprocated rapidly in a lateral direction. The botttm of the tray is perforated with groups of square, circular or other conveniently shaped apertures 40 whereof the dimensions of the respective groups increase progressively toward the delivery end of the tray, and said tray is inclined downwardly toward its delivery end; the transverse guide at that end being arranged adjustably to permit'regulation of the inclination of the tray.

Suitable curtains 41, 42 separate adjacent groups of grading apertures in order to retard the passage of the articles and to enable the grading of the same to be efiected satisfactorily. ln cases where articles of an extremely delicate or frangible nature are to be treated in the machine, a series of strands of soft material, such as chenille, may be suspended from above the tray 38 in additionto said curtains said strands serv-; ing as cushioning devices to prevent the ar-f ticles from being thrown into contact with one another and bruised or broken by the 125 oscillation of the tray 38.

The grading tray 38 is composed of any suitable material in accordance with the nature of the articles to be treated and is side of the machine.

order to permit of lateral movement of said Said sprocket wheel 22 whereby the parts are actuated. Cushioning springs 50 are inserted between the side walls of the tray 38 and the interior of the casing 1. In cases where the articles under treatment are of a heavy nature and where the machine is of largecapacity, the aforesaid mechanism for agitating the grading tray 38 may be duplicated on the opposite side of the machine.

In order to prevent articles of an irregular shape from choking the apertures of the grading tray 38,, a pair of rollers 51, 51, are arranged in light contact with the underside of the tray and are adapted tobe rotated'transversely. across the same. The rollers 51, 51, which are flexible longitudinally and are heavily padded with soft material, are carried by a frame consisting of end members-52, 52, and side members 53, 53, the latter being situated each immediately below a roller. The journals of the roller spindles are received in slots in the end members 52, 52, which slots contain coiled springs serving to ress the rollers lightly against the underside of the gradingtray over the surface of which the rollers are rotated slowly back and forth by 'means of rods 54, 54, each connected at one end to one of the side members 53, and at the opposite end to bell-crank levers 55, 55, mounted on brackets 56, 56, secured to the The bell crank levers 55, 55, are connected by a rod 57 and by a link 58 to a Wrist-pin 59 carried by the aforesaid sprocket wheel 25 whereby the frame and consequently also the rollers are traveled.

Beneath each group of grading apertures 40 a pair of oppositely inclined chutes 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, and is arranged to deliver the graded articles into trays or other containers 66, 67, and 68, and that end of the casing adjacent to the largest grading apertures is open and is provided with an inclined chute 69 which delivers into a receiver all those articles which are too large in size or too irregular in shape to pass through the apertures.

Instead of the crank handle 17 it will be manifest that the machine may be operated by means of a petrol, electric or other suita le motor connected appropriately thereto.

In order to adapt the machine to the cleaning of potatoes, bulbs or other objects which should preferably be examined, to detect those which it is undesirable to market, the machine may be provided adjacent to the hopper 26 with a second. endless apron adapted to be driven slowly to feed the objects into the machine. This second apron may advantageously be composed of wire netting of comparatively large mesh, say half an inch, and its edges are provided with means to vibrate the same to cause the objects thereon to be spread out or separated for examination by the opera tor; a pan being arran ed below said apron for the reception of re use or waste. When articles such as tomatoes are to be subjected to preliminary examination, this second endless apron may be composed of the same materials as' the apron 2.

It will be clear from the foregoing description and from the drawings that by turning the .handwheel 16 the crank shaft 14 is turned and brush 7 is reciprocated, and at the same time, the endless apron 2 is driven by the gearing 16", 18 and 19, and the grading tray and clearing rollers are oscillated by means of the connecting rods and levers and. the gearing 20, 21 and 22,

'and 23, 24, 25 respectively.

The machine may be made in any size, either for domestic uses, for use on shop counters, or for commercial uses generally.

By means of the-above described apparatus, tomatoes, apples, oranges,. onions,

gooseberries, nuts, bulbs, seeds, or potatoes,

or any other fruiterers greengrocers, or

seedmans merchandise may be thoroughly cleansed and graded and rendered fit for' the market or for window display purposes, and the same machine may be converted so as 'to be adapted to deal with all these different articles, by interchanging the bristles, or by removing the padded linings of the various parts and replacing the same by other appropriate linings, or by exchangingthe textile aprons, all as will be obvious-to those skilled in theart.

Claims:

1. In a cleaning machine, the combination, with a substantially-horizontal flexible conveyer for supporting the articles under treatment, and drivingmeans therefor; of a substantially-horizontal reciprocatory brush disposed above said conveyer in position to contact with the articles supported thereupon; means for operating said brush; and a stationary transversely-corrugated horizontal plate disposed beneath and adjacent to said conveyer and coiiperative with said brush for causing the said articles to turn over in their travel with said conveyer during treatment by the brush, to expose their entire surface to the brushing action.

2. In a cleaning machine, the combination, with a substantially-horizontal flexible conveyer for supporting the articles under treatment, and driving means therefor; of a substantially-horizontal reciprocatory brush disposed above "said conveyer 1n posltionto contact with the articles supported thereupon, said brush being provided with downwardly-projecting transverse rows of bristles of alternating lengths; means for operating said brush; and a stationary transversely-corrugated horizontal plate disposed beneath and adjacent to said conveyer and cooperative with said brush for causing the said articles to turn over in their travel with said conveyer during treat- HERMANN BECKER.

Witnesses ERNEST J OHN HILL, HARRY JOHN STOGDEN. 

